California leads the U.S. in solar. It had 2,537.4 megawatts of installed solar capacity at the end of 2012, according the GTM Research 2012 U.S. Solar Market Insight report. It is also second in the country in installed wind capacity and first in geothermal capacity. Two years ago, the state grid operator created a dispatch desk dedicated to managing renewables.

“Our renewables desk operators, the first in the nation, are able to focus solely on creating the weather forecasts and demand predictions that enables them to more efficiently dispatch,” explained the ISO’s Steven Greenlee. It also allows them to work with other desks on managing the ramping of resources like natural gas that support the use of renewables without threatening reliability. “This value is highlighted during days of high renewable energy production,” Greenlee added.

“This awesome growth is just the beginning,” VoteSolar Executive Director Adam Browning said. “Solar’s contribution to the state’s electricity supply has doubled since last September and will double again by the end of this year. We are going to see records broken many times as we move ahead.”

Peak demand on Friday was 36,562 megawatts, making solar more than 5 percent of the state’s electricity demand. Renewables peaked at over 7,600 megawatts, accounting for over 20 percent of the state’s peak electricity.